All four wisdom teeth extracted -- but I was told not to rinse my mouth out for 24 hours?

I had all four impacted wisdom teeth extracted earlier this morning. I'm doing alright...the wounds are taking a while to stop bleeding and my jaw is sore and tender to the touch, but the pain meds and icepacks are definitely helping.

My after-care instruction sheet said to not rinse my mouth out for 24 hours. But it also says that I should eat soft foods and liquids (scrambled eggs, soup, pudding, ice cream, milk, jello, etc.) I want to eat but I don't want anything getting stuck in the wound or causing an infection, and if I can't rinse, how can I avoid this?

I don't see how swishing around some warm water in my mouth would hurt. Anyone have experience with this? Any general tips about recovery, avoiding infection/dry socket, and reducing swelling would also be GREATLY appreciated! =D

You can't rinse or spit, but you can gently swish and just let the water run out of your mouth.

Smoking, anything carbonated, and drinking through a straw is what you need to avoid right now.. the suction from the straw may cause the clot(s) to dislodge, leading to a really uncomfortable dry socket

If the bleeding persists, bite on a moist tea bag with gentle pressure.

Tomorrow you can start actual rinsing with warm salt water.. and gently brush the areas with a soft toothbrush.

The better you follow your post-op instructions, the sooner you'll heal and be as good as new!

Relax this weekend!

:)

You're very welcome!

:) Report It

the reason they say not to rinse for the first 24 hours is to help the wounds clot and stop bleeding. same reason for eating soft foods.
once it's okay to do so, make sure you rinse. i had a bad experience because of not rinsing properly and it was very painful because food got caught in it. be careful and follow the aftercare instructions as written. good luck

It's true. Don't rinse or you'll end up in terrible pain.

I think that you can't rinse because when you spit, you might cause some suction that could take out the blood clots. Why don't you get a milkshake or some icecream, something that won't get stuck???

Oh, also, I don't think that anything soft could get stuck... the holes should be full of a big clot, as long as it's not food that you have to bite on, it shouldn't get stuck.

You don't want to do anything that dislodges the clots that form over the wounds. If you dislodge these clots, you get what is called a 'dry socket'. It will be very painful for one or two days if this occurs. As well, don't take anything that forces you to chew on these wounds. Do not use a straw as this can result in clots dislodging as well.

more info:
http://www.guyettesurgery.com/oral_surge...

glad to hear your feeling alright after this a.m.'s appointment. it true though if you rinse out vigorously you will disturb the extraction site and that in turn will hurt the clotting. if you do this, what you may end up with is a "dry socket" and that my friend is far worse then what you are dealing with now. the procedure is a sinister one to remedy a dry socket. you'll have to go back to your dentist, you'll have to be anesthetize agian, and the dentist will have to poke around the extraction site to make it bleed some more in order to form a new blood clot. sounds bad right? so be patient and do what your instruction sheet tells you. it won't be too long until your back to your normal eating habits.

Rinsing right now would probably dislodge the newly forming clots causing a dry socket to develop. Tomorrow we tell you to rinse! rinse! rinse! with the warm salt water. You will need to do that until you are sick of it, or until the extraction sites cover over well enough. Just do your self a favor, take your medications, relax and follow the "proven" instruction sheet so you can heal quickly and safely. It's better to wait the 24 hours before doing any rinsing, rather than deal with the excruciating pain of a dry socket. Need I mention you would probably have to make the dentist come in for an emergency appointment to pack your socket area off? That in itself may be excruciating pain! Hope I've been of some help and good luck with healing, you鈥檒l feel more like your old self in a day or two.